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After being smashed up by St Kilda last weekend, Richmond will be out to regain their mojo when they line up against the cellar dwellers of the competition, the Brisbane Lions in AFL Round 17.

The Sunday clash gets underway at 1.10PM and the action can be seen on Fox Footy, while AFL Live Vision is also available to ALL CrownBet members. Every Match, wherever you are.

Match Preview

Richmond occupy 6th spot on the ladder but such is the evenness of the competition this season they are one bad loss away from dropping outside of the eight. Meanwhile, Brisbane occupy bottom spot with just three wins to their credit.

The Tigers were decimated by St Kilda to the tune of 67 points last weekend but it could have been much worse as they trailed by as much as 86 at half time before kicking some late goals.

Not to be outdone, Brisbane went down to Geelong on the same night in Round 16 by 85 points. That defeat was their seventh of the season by a margin of more than 50 points and they conceded 163 points to the Cats.

Despite the appointment of Chris Fagan as coach in the off season, defence continues to be a problem for the Queensland based side, who have given up an average of 120 points per game in 2017.

However, Lions fans can take some degree of hope into this, as at their most recent appearance at Etihad Stadium they accounted for Essendon by 12 points and that game was just two weeks ago. Richmond are one win from three at the venue this season.

Both sides have a stack of quality midfielders. Dustin Martin comes off a quiet game last weekend but is second in the betting for the Brownlow, while Trent Cotchin has been finding his fare share of the footy.

The Lions trio of Dayne Zorko, Dayne Beams and Tom Rockliff will give a solid contest but the Lions depth falls away dramatically at both ends of the ground. Richmond should have enough quality with Alex Rance in the backline and Jack Riewoldt (forward line) likely to have an influence.

Team News

Look for Shai Bolton and Nick Vlaustin to return for Richmond. Dylan Grimes is in some doubt after injuring his cheekbone against the Saints. At Brisbane, the Lions are expected to make at least one change with Josh Walker set to miss. Josh Schache is the likely replacement and the youngster comes off 10 goals in his past two games in the NEAFL.

Stats

Richmond have won their past 10 against Brisbane and have not lost to the Lions since 2009. Those victories have come at an average margin of 33 points.

The two sides have not met at Etihad Stadium since 2008 and on that occasion it was the Tigers by three points.

The most recent clash came in Round 4 this year and it was Richmond by 52 points at the GABBA. Jack Riewoldt and Jason Castagna combined for eight goals, while Tom Rockliff and Dayne Zorko were Brisbane's best.

Prediction and Tips

While it is difficult to trust Richmond at times, logic says they should bounce back with a strong win.